Enti's First Day
by starhamster42
Summary: A new teacher confronts Neopia's worst class ever. (More stories to come soon!)


"Enti's First Day" by Starhamster42

NEOPIA CENTRAL - High above the streets of Neopia's largest city, the sun peeked its blazing face out of the clouds. It looked upon the mounds of snow piled high beside the road, then snickered evilly and proceeded to melt it all into little puddles: all the better to hamper the populace as they made their way to work. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

(It might be worth noting at this point that yes, the sun is truly evil. Go on, think of all those sunburns it's maliciously given you over the years when you _know you put on sunscreen, or blinded you when you walked out of a movie theater – indeed, if Dr. Sloth had ever thought to form an alliance with the sun, Neopia would be a much different place. But back to our story...)_

Arl-entiros sprinted down the street at full speed, splashing frigid water from the scattered puddles onto various passers-by in his wake. "Sorrryyy!"

"Hrmph," the Mail Chia commented as he watched the figure of the blue Aisha fade into the distance. "Never seen anyone so excited to get a letter before!" He shouldered his mail sack and moved on to the next house.

The blue Aisha skidded to a halt in front of a small building whose red neon lettering named it "Ruby's Diner." A golden bell jingled annoyingly as he pushed the door open (what did you expect? It _was a self-respecting diner, after all, and wouldn't dare be seen without a nice annoying bell)._

A red Scorchio looked up from cleaning the front counter and waved. " 'Morning, sunshine! You're here early today."

"Ruby, look! I got in!" The Aisha's eyes positively shone as he pulled a letter from his coat and slid it across to his friend. Ruby tore it open eagerly and read it aloud.

_Dear Mr. Arl-entiros,_

_Your application to fill in the vacant position of science teacher at Neopia High has been reviewed and accepted._

_If you are absolutely sure you want to take this job (and have your medical insurance up-to-date, as the school will not take any responsibility for any bodily or psychological harm inflicted by your students), school begins at __8 AM__ on Monday the second._

_I look forward to seeing you then. Good luck (you'll need it)!_

_Sincerely,_

_Principal Miller _

Ruby looked up. "You applied for the _science position?" she asked incredulously. "Are you __insane?"_

Enti looked at the Scorchio. "Why does everybody keep asking me that? Of _course I want to teach; it's what I've always dreamed of!"_

Ruby pointed to a few lines in the letter. " 'Medical insurance'? 'Bodily or psychological harm'? Doesn't that strike you as a little strange? Don't you know who you're going to be _teaching? Honey, the only reason there's a position open left for you to take is 'cause the last teacher ran out of the building screaming something about Magtiles with sharp pointy teeth, turned the corner, and never came back."_

This announcement failed to faze the blue Aisha, who merely grinned all the wider. "I know! Won't it be great!"

The red Scorchio began to feel that she was losing this argument, but tried one last time to make her point. "I don't think you understand - that class holds a record unequaled in all of Neopia: no teacher has ever lasted more than a month with them without running away or needing serious therapy!" 

"Don't we all?" Enti countered, smiling. "Don't take those tall tales so seriously, Ruby! They're just kids! I'm sure they can't be that bad..."

*****

_The next day..._

"Here's your classroom," Principal Miller said, looking decidedly nervous. Memories of screaming teachers running past him and out the door weren't the kind that you forgot easily. "You'll excuse me if I don't accompany you inside; I have work to do. Very important work." He practically sprinted away down the hall.

"Hmm," thought Enti. "I wonder why he's in such a hurry?" A memory of Ruby's advice surfaced, but he determinedly pushed the nagging words out of his head. "They _can't be that bad." He opened the door and walked into the room –_

– And was greeted by a scene of roaring chaos. All the students were screaming at the top of their lungs and hurling paper balls at each other. A paper airplane whizzed by, narrowly missing his ear: had that one been aimed?

Enti frantically thought back to the first page of his Teaching 101 manual: How to Gain the Students' Attention. The only words on the page had been "**Good luck!", so it was up to him to figure out a way. The Aisha tried clearing his throat, yelling above the fracas, and even the time-honored trick of switching the overhead lights on and off, all with no effect. Finally an idea popped into his head. **

A moment later, all sound and movement in the classroom came to a sudden halt at the horrible grinding sound of the teacher's long claws screeching their way down the blackboard. "There," said Enti brightly, smiling at his students. "Now that I have your attention – good morning, class!"

They all stared at him blankly. "My name is Arl-entiros, though you can feel free to call me Enti, Professor, or..."

"The new science teacher that won't be around longer than two weeks before we drive him out," a faerie Kiko in the front row supplied sweetly. This remark was met with some general grins that gave the teacher the disturbing impression that the students were sizing him up, but he chose to ignore it and plow desperately on with his speech.

"That too! I've always believed that one of the best ways you can learn is not just through a textbook but also to see the connections between things: that's why I'm going to throw in as many demonstrations and facts as I can in my lectures." He turned his back to the class – the number-one mistake of new teachers to this group, and usually the most critical – and began writing on the board.

"We'll show him a demonstration," a shadow Techo muttered rebelliously from the back. Enti never noticed the large red bull's-eye a student taped to his back.

*****

_A few hours later..._

__

The little golden bell jangled all the more annoyingly as the front door to Ruby's Diner was thrown open and the small figure of an Aisha staggered in. A few bits of paper were stuck in Enti's blue fur and a bruise made by the unlucky hit of a piece of hard Lemon Sweetie was rapidly darkening under his left eye.

The red Scorchio hurried over and helped her friend collapse into a chair. "Bad day?"

"You have _no idea..."_

**The End.**


End file.
